Just Dance
by PerrythePlatypusGirl
Summary: The Paladins get all dressed up and go to the ball. Well, Allura insists that it's just for diplomatic purposes, but we all know the truth-it's a party. There's no plot to this fic, just a lot of dancing and a lot of bonding. Everyone dances with everyone, but the main pairings are Lance/Pidge and Shiro/Keith.
1. Round 1

**A quick disclaimer before we start: Apparently character ages are a subject of some debate in the fandom so far, so I'm just gonna stick this here: Lance and Hunk are 17, Pidge is 15, Keith is 19, Shiro is 23. I know this doesn't quite match up with what has been said, but I don't really care. That's how old they are in this story.**

 **Anyway, let's just enjoy the fluff.**

* * *

 _Round 1_

It was the kind of thing that they'd only heard about in fairy tales. A huge ballroom with larger-than-life chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, food and decorations, all with an alien flair, scattered about. Oh, and dancing. Lots and lots of dancing.

Allura had insisted that this was merely a diplomatic social gathering, a chance for Team Voltron to gain some allies on this planet, but none of them were fooled by the title-the was a straight-up _party_. Apparently even the princess, in the middle of war, couldn't help but let loose and have fun every once in a while. Not that Lance was complaining, of course, but he wondered how the others were taking it, namely Shiro.

Their style of dancing at parties was odd too, or at least that's how Lance thought of it. They had to dance with partners, but it wasn't the type of thing where people ask each other and dance. It was more like walking into a mush pot, you step on the dance floor and you keep switching from partner to partner, dancing with whoever was thrown at you, regardless of gender or the type of song being played.

...ok, well, that made it sound a bit more hectic than it actually was, but Lance kinda felt that way sometimes when he was forced to dance with these random aliens. He just wanted to dance with his girlfriend, but at the moment, she was all the way across the room.

The current song that was playing ended, and Lance said a quick goodbye to his current partner. Tugging at the tie he was wearing under his shiny blue suit, he started looking for the next one. The next song would start in a few seconds, and he would like to at least dance with someone he knew...

Lo and behold, he got his wish, when Hunk's bright yellow suit appeared in his field of vision, and he immediately made a beeline for it. Lance grabbed his friend's shoulder with a relieved smile, glad he caught him before someone else could. "Hunk! Buddy!"

Hunk turned around in surprise and immediately swept Lance into a hug. "Oh thank goodness! I thought I'd lost you guys."

"I know, right? Talk about dancing till you drop. Not that _I'm_ tired of course."

Hunk rolled his eyes. "Where's Pidge? Have you gotten a dance with her yet?"

Lance sighed. "Nope. You're the first person from the team I've caught so far."

"Same with you."

The music began to swell again, and the crowd around them started to partner up. Lance grinned and turned to his buddy with an outstretched hand. "Well, my good sir, shall we dance?"

Hunk rolled his eyes. "Lance, for crying out loud, don't make this gay."

"Hunk, you haven't seen the way some of these male aliens look at me-this will be the _least_ gay dance for me so far."

Hunk smirked and took Lance's hand. "Ok, fair enough."

Luckily for both of them, Lance was a pretty decent dancer, so even though they were holding each other like an awkward couple at prom, Lance's skill at least made up for it.

"So..." Hunk started. "Weird party, huh?"

"Eh. They're aliens, what else can you expect?" Lance spun Hunk around, almost automatically, and continued stepping to the beat. "Besides, it's relaxing. It's nice to be able to think about something other than Zarkon and imminent doom and such."

Hunk was still blinking in surprise that Lance had gone and twirled him like that, but didn't mention it. "I...guess that's true."

"Is the food here any good?"

Hunk shrugged. "Better than the food goo, at least. But it's got this weird aftertaste..." Hunk smacked his lips together, making Lance laugh.

The tempo began to get a bit faster, and the two boys allowed themselves to be a little less formal with their dance. Hunk seemed to be having trouble keeping up with Lance's pace though.

"You ok, buddy?" Lance asked.

"I'm fine, just-how are you not tired?"

Lance shrugged and smiled to himself. "I'm just used to it I guess. Did a lot of dancing back home." He thought for a moment, then grinned even wider. "Just follow my lead, ok? Spin me around, then lift me."

Hunk scrunched his nose. " _Lift_ you?"

"Yes, lift me. In the air. It's not a real dance unless there's a lift. And a dip."

"You want me to lift you and dip you."

"Do it, Hunk."

Hunk sighed. "Ok. Not my fault if we get embarrassed though." With that, he did as Lance told him to do.

Lance gave a loud "woohoo!" as Hunk lifted him into the air, stretching out his thin arms like an airplane and smiling like a giddy little kid. "Hey everyone! Look at my friend Hunk! He's so supportive!"

Hunk muttered something under his breath and put Lance back down. "Seriously?"

"What?" Lance smirked. "I was telling everyone how great you are! You're welcome."

Hunk rolled his eyes but gave a grin of his own. "Ok, fine."

"Aren't you gonna dip me?"

"Nah."

Lance pouted for a moment, then shrugged. "Ok, fine. How about we finish with a well-polished dab?"

They both dabbed, and while the others in the room looked on in confusion, the two boys burst out laughing. This was a lot more fun than they'd expected an alien formal dance to be. But that was probably because they'd found each other.

* * *

He was looking at Shiro.

Keith was trying to focus on the current dance he had going, but he couldn't help that he'd spotted Shiro in the crowd and was now watching him dance and chat with Allura in his arms. Keith had already heard several of the guests whispering about how amazing Shiro and Allura looked together-like an elegant couple from a fairy tale. Keith couldn't help but agree, much to his own dismay, and it didn't help that those two looked like they were having a great time. And that they both looked absolutely stunning.

" _Ahem_."

Keith was snapped out of his daze by an impatient whine coming from his partner. He haphazardly turned to look down at the tiny girl, who was frowning up at him with her huge amber eyes.

Keith cleared his throat. "S-sorry, Pidge. I just got a little distracted, is all."

"You stepped on my foot again," Pidge deadpanned.

"Sorry. I told you, I'm not much of a dancer."

"Well, _maybe_ if you'd stop staring at Shiro and pay attention to me, you'd know that I'm trying to teach you."

Keith's face turned redder than his blazer. "I-I wasnt-" he stuttered, but Pidge could see right through him.

Pidge gave him a knowing smile. "Relax, will you? It's a party. Here, just follow me, I'll show you how to not step on my toes." She stared down at their feet and started moving slowly, coaxing Keith to follow her. "Just step back, to the side then forward. Now forward, side, back." She looked up once more. "Easy, right?"

"I guess."

They tried it a few more times, Pidge correcting him as he went, until Keith finally started getting the hang of it. As they picked up the pace, Pidge's soft green skirt flowed freely around her legs. It was really weird to see Pidge in a dress (he'd expressed this to her and had gotten a snappy response, as usual.) but then again, he wasn't used to dressing up like this either. Keith wasn't the social type, he barely liked casual mingling, much less having to dance with tons of strangers. At the very least, he had his friends here to help him feel even _slightly_ less uncomfortable.

He looked down at Pidge curiously. "Where'd you learn to dance from, anyway?"

Pidge grinned widely. "Lance showed me how."

Keith fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Oh yeah. I forgot you spend every waking moment of your life with him now."

"I do not!" Pidge pouted. "I only spend _half_ my waking moments with him. The other half is spent working on modifications for Green."

"Oh, ok, my mistake. Clearly you lead an extremely varied life."

"Shut up Keith, you're one to talk. You spend all day in the training deck. Can't you ever just chill?"

"I'm never chill."

This caused Pidge to snicker, and Keith gave a smirk of his own. The tempo of the music began to pick up, and Keith started to panic a little, but Pidge took charge. She twirled herself under Keith's arm like it was the most natural thing in the world, laughing gleefully all the way through. Keith smiled at her as she did. Pidge was usually so serious and snarky, but there were times when she would turn into an adorable ball of childlike energy. Maybe that was why she and Lance got along so well.

Speaking of Lance-

An incoherent yell sounded from the middle of the room, catching both his and Pidge's attention. Keith sighed. "Found your boyfriend."

Lance appeared to be doing some kind of ridiculous dance with Hunk-oh God, were they _dabbing?_ Could Lance ever go _anywhere_ without completely embarrassing himself?

Pidge seemed amused, at least, as she turned back to Keith with an eyeroll and another wide grin. "What a dork."

"You can say that again," Keith grumbled. "I still don't get what you see in him, but I won't ask again."

"Hey, not every relationship can be as perfect as yours and Shiro's," Pidge teased. "Some of us just like the carefree type, ok?"

Keith rolled his eyes and flushed again. "Whatever you say."

They didn't talk much more after that, but it wasn't too awkward. Pidge hummed along to the music as she danced, and Keith gave a tiny smile as he tried to keep up with her. As the song kept going, though, Keith found himself looking up and trying to find the others again. He spotted Allura twirling elegantly, the length of her pink dress swirling about her, while Shiro expertly brought her around and back into his arms.

Keith bit his lip and cursed himself for looking over there again. He tried to focus once more on Pidge, but Shiro seemed to notice him looking and flashed a grin his way. This of course made Keith nearly trip over his own feet. How annoying. It took Shiro literally no effort to make Keith lose focus, and he honestly didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing-

"Keith, for the love of _quiznak,_ stop stepping on my damn feet!"

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for us to be away from the castle like this?"

Allura gave a short huff and stared up at Shiro in annoyance. "Shiro, I told you already-the building is guarded and Coran is keeping watch over the castle. Now will you please just relax?"

Shiro looked at her apologetically, still tense. "I know, I know. I just-I get nervous when we're far away from our lions for too long, you know? You remember what happened at our _last_ diplomatic party, don't you?"

"Yes, I remember, but that won't happen this time. Coran will contact us if anything is wrong, alright?" She assured him yet again. "There's no need to worry."

"O...kay..."

"Good. Now _relax."_ Allura put both her hands on the taller man's shoulders and firmly pushed down on them, trying to make him release the tension in his body.

Shiro winced in pain as she did. "Allura-"

Allura's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Sorry! I forgot you humans can be rather fragile."

"I think you just don't know your own strength," Shiro countered, rolling his shoulders.

Allura chuckled sheepishly, then gently placed both hands on his shoulders once more. She took the moment to look around the dance hall and smile in awe. "It's very nice here, isn't it? I haven't been to a gathering like this in..." her smile faltered. "A long time."

Shiro nodded silently and glanced around the room with her. Not far from them he spotted Keith trying to dance with Pidge, and couldn't help but feel slightly amused. It was a little funny that Keith was years older than Pidge and yet _he_ was the one being taught.

Allura turned back to Shiro, her smile still wide. "Tell me, do you have anything like this on Earth?"

"You mean, dance parties? Sure, all the time." He paused. "Well, maybe not like this one. Something like this is super fancy, basically royalty-caliber." He smirked. "Though, I guess you must be used to that."

Allura chuckled. "Yes, well, it has been a while."

They continued to sway back and forth, each one lost in their own thoughts and memories. Occasionally they'd do a spin or a twirl, but Shiro was mostly content with moving back and forth. He didn't want to draw too much attention, especially with someone of the aliens looking at them the way they were.

The music's tempo started getting faster, and Allura perked up. She was giggling as she started dancing faster, dragging Shiro along with her. Thankfully, Shiro was skilled enough to keep up, but he was still surprised at sudden change of pace.

Allura seemed to be having a lot of fun, though, so who was he to dampen her mood?

Someone was yelling from the middle of the room, and Shiro turned to see that it was (of course) Lance, yelling something they couldn't quite make out as Hunk lifted him and put him back down.

Allura seemed oddly fascinated. "What was that?"

Shiro sighed. "Just Lance being Lance."

"No, I mean, why was Hunk carrying him like that? Was that dancing?"

"I guess? It was a lift. You guys don't have that?"

"No, but it looks fun! Can we try it?"

Shiro hesitated. "I...guess so..." Hesitantly, he put his hands on Allura's waist and briefly lifted her up in the air, spinning her once before putting her back down.

Allura was laughing like a little girl when she was back on the floor. "Amazing! Earth dancing is so much fun!"

"Yeah, it kind of is. Most of it." Shiro was just glad that Allura had her back turned to whatever the heck it was Lance and Hunk were doing now.

But he had to admit she was right. This was quite fun. Allura was caught up in the music now, letting him twirl her around while her dress was spinning and she was laughing. Shiro couldn't help but smile a bit. It was good to see everyone having so much fun after all they'd been through so far.

As he turned, Shiro's eyes wandered briefly off of Allura and over to the other pairs in the room.

Keith was looking. Shiro shot him a grin. Keith almost crashed into Pidge.

Allura was saying something to him, but paused and followed his gaze. She then gave him a grin, along with a nudge. "Shiro," she sing-songed, "I know it's hard to keep your eyes off him, but you should probably pay attention so you don't step on my toes."

Shiro just rolled his eyes and spun a laughing Allura around once more. "Whatever you say, Princess," he sighed. Honestly, Allura was amazing, but her tendency to tease could get on even Shiro's nerves once in a while...

The song was drawing to a close, and Allura spun around once more, ending their dance with a tight hug that almost lifted Shiro off the ground. He gasped for air at her strong embrace, but luckily it was over quickly enough.

Allura didn't seem to notice. "Well, I guess that will be all for now."

Shiro chuckled. "I guess so. See you soon, Princess."


	2. Round 2

_Round 2_

Keith was still feeling a little dizzy from the last song, when at last he bumped into another familiar face.

"Keith!" her voice called out, and Keith felt a strong hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Keith blinked up at the owner of the voice and gave her a reassuring smile. "Oh. Allura. Yeah, I'm fine, it's just...that last guy..." He shot a side-long glance at the alien he'd just been dancing with, the one who'd been moving so fast that Keith thought he would puke. "He takes his dancing very seriously."

Allura laughed, taking Keith's hand and pulling him closer as the next song started. "Oh dear," she giggled. "Well, I'll try to take it easy on you, then."

Keith rolled his eyes, but was grateful. There was only so much spinning he could do in one night. He wasn't sure how the others were holding up, but he sure hoped it was better than him.

There was a slightly awkward silence between them for a moment, then Allura smiled brightly once more. "So, Keith…" she began. "Are you enjoying the party so far?"

Keith shrugged. "Sure, more or less."

"Shiro tells me you're not much of a social type," Allura continued, still smiling gently. "I was a bit worried that a Kenilian dance party would be a bit much, but you seem to be taking it well."

Keith rolled his eyes and tried to look annoyed, but it was honestly hard to be mad at Allura, she was way too sweet. "Don't worry about me, Princess, I'm fine." He paused, glancing away from her for a moment. "This place is just sorta...classy, I guess? I just feel a little out of place, is all."

Allura gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Oh, Keith, you know nobody's judging you here," she told him. "You're a paladin of Voltron, after all, and everyone here respects you-" she suddenly pulled him closer and spun him around "-even if you can't dance."

Keith wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure him or tease him, but he smiled back anyway. "If you say so."

"And besides, it's not like the others are faring much better. Just look at Lance." She turned and nodded in his direction.

"I'd rather not look at Lan-oh my god, what is he doing."

Lance, for some reason or another, had jumped right into Shiro's arms like a damn princess, and was now saying something about how the crowd loved them or whatever. Shiro just looked tired.

Keith turned back to Allura. "You know, I actually feel better about myself now. Thanks, Allura."

"Just let that be a lesson to you, Keith-if you ever feel bad about yourself, just look at Lance. He's probably doing worse."

They both burst out laughing for a moment, but Keith looked in the direction of the other couple once more, this time trying to find Shiro. To his dismay, though, they had disappeared. Keith frowned, and turned back to his partner to find her smirking at him.

"...What?"

"Are you looking for Shiro?" Allura asked teasingly.

"Um…"

She giggled again. "Don't worry, Keith, you'll get to dance with him soon."

"Allura…" Keith sighed, but he didn't try to deny it. At the very least, Allura was supportive. She hadn't even seemed to notice how the people around them had been whispering about her and Shiro. If anything, that should have probably made Keith more annoyed but...well, it was impossible to be mad at Allura.

* * *

Shiro was just barely saying goodbye to his last dance partner when someone clamped a hand on his shoulder from behind.

"I'm claiming you before someone else does!" Lance's voice cried, just as Shiro was turning to him.

"Oh hey," Shiro replied, unfazed by Lance's sudden appearance. "I was actually just about to be taking a break."

"Come on! Just one more?"

Shiro sighed. "Ok. Fine."

Lance put his hand on Shiro's shoulder and they started to dance very slowly, but Lance was still glancing around anxiously.

"You looking for something?" Shiro asked him curiously.

"Ummmm. Pidge," Lance replied. "I was thinking if I could find her, we could slowly edge closer and I could grab her for the next dance before some alien pulls me over."

"You haven't danced with her yet?"

"No," Lance pouted. "I've been trying to get her attention for the past half hour, but she always gets dragged right to the other side of the room. I swear, these Kenilians think ballroom dancing is some giant group game, or something."

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah, it's clearly not the romantic thing you seem to think it is."

"No, not romantic," Lance laughed awkwardly. "Or else I wouldn't be dancing with you. That would be kinda weird."

Shiro rolled his eyes and just let the subject drop. Lance, however, continued musing about this.

"It... _is_ kinda weird, though," Lance started awkwardly. "Dancing with you like this."

Shiro frowned slightly. "Why?"

"I mean, not _weird_ , per se, but...surreal?" Lance smirked, trying to articulate what exactly he meant to say. "I mean, it's weird to think that just a few months ago you were some distant figure I looked up to. My _hero_ , even. Didn't think I'd ever actually meet you. And now here we are." He chuckled.

Shiro blinker, but gave a sheepish smile. "Ah. I'm no hero, Lance."

"Sure you are! You're like, the head of the team-literally. The universe would be pretty screwed over without you."

"Or you," Shiro chuckled. "You're just as much a part of this team as I am. You're a hero too, Lance."

Lance seemed genuinely flustered for a second, but then broke into his usual goofy grin. "Awwwwww, senpai complimented me!"

Shiro's smile disappeared. "Don't push it, Lance."

Lance snickered and was about to say more, but was distracted when Pidge squealed somewhere near them. The small girl was dancing with Hunk and it looked like they were having the best time out of anyone here.

Lance pouted. "No fair, they're having fun without me!"

"Well, you found Pidge, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but they're spinning all over the room, I'll never catch up to her like that," Lance grumbled. "Ah, whatever, if they can have fun without me, I can have fun without them. Shiro, spin me or something."

"Uh, ok." He did as Lance asked, but the younger boy didn't seem satisfied.

"No, no, faster," he complained.

Shiro sighed and allowed Lance to spin as fast as he wanted to. But of course Lance shouldn't have been left to his own devices, because of course he took it too far and somehow went from spinning to jumping right into Shiro's arms.

Next thing Shiro knew, he was carrying Lance in his arms like a princess, while Lance waved to everyone who was staring at them.

"The crowd loves us, Shiro!"

"Lance, you have three seconds before I drop you."

Lance decided not to take the risk and hopped down to the floor. "S-sorry...wanna go again?"

Shiro shrugged. "I'd rather just go get something to eat."

"Good idea. Hunk said the food here was kinda weird, but I kinda wanna try it, too…" Lance turned on his heel and headed toward the buffet table, where all the food was laid out neatly. Shiro followed him, stopping just as Lance scooped up a spoonful of...something...and shoved it in his mouth.

Shiro looked at him curiously. "How is it?"

Lance looked up thoughtfully. "Hmm. It's actually not ba-" he suddenly dropped the spoon and gagged, a hand flying to his mouth as he did.

Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder in concern. "Lance? You okay?"

"Yeah," Lance replied, choking it down. "Just...don't eat the….pink stuff."

"Yeah, I...think I just lost my appetite all together," Shiro replied, eyeing the food suspiciously.

"Oh, ok. You wanna go dance with me again? I can lead this time."

"...No."

* * *

Pidge was frowning in slight annoyance as she glanced over at the band at the front of the room. "Hey Hunk," she said. "Is it just me, or have they been playing the same song over and over?"

Hunk looked down in his tiny dance partner in confusion and shrugged. "I haven't been paying attention, but...no, not really."

Pidge frowned even further. "I guess alien music all sounds the same, then. Pff. How boring."

"Well, Earth music kinda sounds all the same too..."

"No it doesn't! _My_ music doesn't sound the same."

"No offense Pidge, but yes, it does."

Pidge opened her mouth to retort, but then closed it again. Trying to prove Hunk wrong would probably require him to actually listen to her heavy metal albums, and she figured that wouldn't happen. "Still, it's getting kinda boring."

Hunk shrugged. "I mean, we could always just ignore the music and dance however we want."

Pidge perked up at this. "Good idea!" She pulled away from Hunk and started trying to spin him around, like a little kid playing ring-around-the-rosie.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Hunk asked. " _I'm_ supposed to be leading."

Pidge continued to tug at Hunk's arms, trying to make him move from his spot. "Well, don't just stand there, then! Let's go!"

Hunk gave in and let her spin him around, barely managing to stop her from crashing into another couple nearby. Luckily, she slowed down a little after that, and Pidge was laughing heartily as they somehow spun all the way to the other end of the dance floor.

"Ok," Hunk said with a grin. "You were right, this is a lot better than before."

"Told you!"

"...But can we maybe stop now? I'm getting kinda dizzy."

"Nope!"

Hunk rolled his eyes, and brought them both to a halt. Pidge tried to keep them spinning, but unfortunately, she was too small. "Lame," she complained.

"Hey, I'm sorry, ok?" Hunk said. "I can't spin around too much, I'll get sick."

"Then I'll just spin by myself." She let go of Hunk's hands and started to twirl on her own, her skirt flying up around her knees.

Hunk sighed, but let her go, watching as she slowly started to get dizzy herself, and he had to put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Are you done?" Hunk asked.

Pidge grinned up at him. "For now. You wanna just go back to the boring one?"

"Ok, fine. As long as there's no more spinning."

"No promises."


	3. Round 3

_Round 3_

Keith leaned against the table he was sitting near, and watched as the party continued on the dance floor. He'd finally managed to take a breather and sit out for a few rounds, but he was sure that any second now, Allura would appear and push him to get back into the fray. Though, it was surprisingly hard to find anybody from his crew here. It somehow seemed even _more_ hectic when one watched it from the outside.

"Hey."

Keith blinked and looked up to see Hunk making his way over, grinning widely and holding two cups in his hand.

"You need something to drink?" Hunk asked. "I found this, and it's like, the only thing I could drink without spitting out."

Keith smiled. "Sure, thanks." He took the drink from Hunk and waited until his friend sat down. He inspected the blue liquid in the cup for a second before bringing it to his lips and taking a tiny sip. It had a spicy yet fruity taste and left a tingling sensation on his tongue, but definitely wasn't bad.

Hunk took a few sips of it as well, then cleared his throat and tried to make conversation. "So. Uh...how come you're alone?"

Keith simply shrugged.

"I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"What? No, you're not."

"Oh, good," Hunk chuckled. "It's just that it's sometimes hard to tell when you want company, cause you're usually kind of a loner."

"Ah," Keith replied, swirling the cup idly. "No, it's fine, really. It's not as if I like being alone, I'm just...used to it, I guess. You know, being on your own for a year does that."

"Right, yeah, you lived in the shack, didn't you?" Hunk said. "I don't know how you did it."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, being all alone in the middle of nowhere?" Hunk continued. "If it were me, I would've probably starved or...I don't know, cried a lot and given up." He shrugged and grinned at Keith. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're a badass, after all, unlike me."

Keith blinked at his friend a few times, surprised by the compliment, and turned away sheepishly. He tried to take another sip in an attempt to hide the smile on his face, with minimal success. "Th-thanks, Hunk," he said. "But I mean, I was just doing what I had to. Nothing really badass about that..."

Hunk laughed and gave Keith a friendly pat on the back. "Such modesty. Ok, buddy, whatever you say." He gulped down the rest of his drink and sat back.

For a few minutes there was nothing but a comfortable silence between the two of them. Soon, though, the next song began, and Hunk got up to stretch his back.

"Well, might as well get back into it," Hunk said cheerfully. "Before Allura comes and drags me in." He looked down at Keith. "You wanna join me for this round?"

"Hm? Oh, sure." He got up and walked alongside Hunk, back to the hectic dance floor.

"Don't worry, I won't make you spin around too much," Hunk was saying. He took Keith's hand and faced him, frowning in slight annoyance as they began to dance. "I already had enough of that from the rest of these guys. Everyone here takes dancing way too seriously."

"I know. Must be the Kenilian way, or something."

Hunk scoffed, but said nothing more. For a moment he looked around the room, observing everyone else, lost in thought. A frown began to form on his face, and Keith started to get curious. "Hunk?"

"Hm?" Hunk seemed to snap out of his daze. "Sorry, I was just...I started comparing Kenilian dances to Earth dances, and then...just started thinking about Earth in general."

"Oh." Keith frowned at the floor as he heard this. His friends often talked about how much they missed home, but he never felt like he had much to say on the matter. At times, he felt like he'd never understand. Everything and everyone he cared about was out here, and all he had back home was the _shack._ But other times, Keith could understand. It was _home,_ after all, and he could imagine how it felt for the others, who probably had loved ones waiting for them there.

"Keith?"

Now it was Keith's turn to snap out of his daze. "Oh, sorry. It was nothing."

Hunk nodded in understanding. "Hey, buddy, I get it. No worries." A tiny smile formed on his face. "We'll probably be back home soon, or at least that's what Shiro says." He shrugged and frowned slightly. "Yeesh, can't believe I let myself get all emotional during a party. Do you think that blue stuff had something in it?"

"I, uh...hope not..."

"Sorry in advance if it did. I don't think I'm going _anywhere_ near that table for the rest of the night..."

Keith laughed, and listened as Hunk continued to ramble about wherever he felt like. He was glad that Hunk was able to so easily jump from a serious topic to something more lighthearted to distract him. Keith didn't like thinking about going back to Earth. He'd rather just stay in the moment, and right now, he just wanted to get this crazy dance party over with.

* * *

Allura wasn't quite sure how she had ended up dancing with Lance, but here she was, and he was rambling on as usual.

"...so anyway, the next day my sisters go around telling everyone that my 20-year-old brother wears dentures, without realizing that it's just a grind guard," Lance was saying. "He was so confused when a bunch of adults started coming up to him and consoling him about his _situation_ ," he snickered. "God, I remember his face, it was too funny."

Allura simply smiled and nodded, not entirely sure what he was talking about. She'd learned that sometimes it was best to just let Lance talk about whatever was on his mind.

"Allura? You listening?"

Allura blinked. "Oh, sorry Lance. I got a little distracted."

Lance smirked. "By what? My beautiful face? It's ok, Allura, I understand. I'm irresistible."

Allura rolled her eyes. "Still flirting with me, Lance? What would Pidge have to say about it?"

"What? No, I wasn't flirting! I was saying that _I'm_ irresistible!"

Allura chuckled. "Alright then. But I was actually distracted by your story...what is a 'grind guard'?"

Lance blinked. "You know...you wear it at night to keep your teeth from rubbing together? It's like a retainer."

"A retainer...?"

"Yeah, the thing that holds your teeth in place?"

Allura just seemed more confused. "In place? Do...do your teeth fall out...?"

"No, no," Lance clarified, then paused. "Well, actually yes, but only when you're really old. Or really young, and you're getting rid of your baby teeth to grow adult ones..."

Allura looked mildly horrified at this fact, so Lance stopped and shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, you know what? It's not important. I'll tell you a different story. One time my mom took my sisters to the doctor's office for a check-up, but then one of them fell over and sprained her ankle _at_ the doctor's office, so we-"

Allura giggled, interrupting him. "My goodness Lance, how many stories do you have?"

"Tons!" Lance replied proudly. "When you've got a family as big as mine, you can be sure a lot of crazy stuff is going to happen."

"Must be nice."

"Yeah. It got real quiet when I left them for the Garrison..."

Allura nodded, her smile turning sympathetic at the sight of Lance's reminiscent smile. "You must miss them, don't you?"

Lance looked a little surprised but shrugged it off with another signature grin. He twirled Allura around, probably just to keep her from looking at him for a second, but scoffed. "Well, yeah, but...I mean, I've got you guys now...and besides-" he was picking up his pace in general, she noticed-"All we gotta do is kick Zarkon's butt into next week, and I'll be able to see them again. Easy Peasy."

Allura frowned as his eyes darted around to avoid her. "Yes of course..." she agreed. "Lance...it's alright to be homesick, you know. We all understand."

This time Lance looked her in the eye, lip trembling slightly, but once again waved it off. "Ah, I mean, we all get that way sometimes, whatever." Another spin. "But who cares? No time for that sad stuff, this is a party! Let's just dance!"

With that, he smoothly twirled her around once more and pulled her in for a dip, grinning once more as he did.

He brought her to her feet again. "So? Am I a good dancer or am I a good dancer?"

Allura smiled at him. "Alight Lance, you're a wonderful dancer, I admit."

"Thank you, thank you," Lance smirked proudly. "Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, I should tell you about the time I caught my aunt watching _anime..._ "

* * *

"Pidge?"

Pidge blinked a couple times and looked up at Shiro, who was smiling gently like he always did.

"You ok?" He asked her. "You seem tired."

Pidge grinned. "I mean, a little, but not really," she replied. "To be honest, I just...don't even know what I'm doing any more? I don't even know what kind of dance we're supposed to be doing..."

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah, me neither..."

"You don't? But you're supposed to be leading!" She giggled.

"I know, I know, just...go with it." He twirled the tiny girl around as she laughed giddily.

"Well, if you really don't know what you're doing, you sure are good at hiding it," Pidge smirked.

"I've been doing it all night, why stop now? But I'm sure someone's already figured out that I'm no good at dancing."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Shiro. You dance just fine."

"Well, that's good to hear," he replied. "Considering I haven't danced much since...I don't know, high school."

"Better than me," said Pidge. "The only dancing experience I ever had-well, before Lance taught me, anyway-was just messing around with Matt when we were little."

Shiro laughed. "Oh yeah. He told me all about that. And all the other crazy stuff you did as kids."

"Heh. Yeah."

Pidge grew quiet at that moment, and Shiro started to get a bit worried. Pidge would often do this when her family was brought up, and he was about to say something to her when she looked up at him again."

"Shiro, do you have a family back home?" She asked suddenly.

Shiro blinked in surprise, then frowned. "Yeah, but...well, we're not close. I haven't spoken to them in years, I think…"

Pidge looked a little upset as she stared up at him, but then she smiled once more. "Aww, well...at least you've got us, right Shiro?"

Shiro smile back and ruffled her hair. "Yeah. Thank you Pidge." He paused, looking down at her solemn expression. Then he lowered his voice. "And don't worry. I know you miss your father and brother, but we're going to find them soon. I promise."

This seemed to console Pidge for the time being, as she gave Shiro a quick hug. She also got quieter as she spoke. "Mm-hmm. Thanks, Shiro. For being there. I-I'm pretty sure I'd have fallen apart if it wasn't for you guys…."

"Of course, Pidge. We're a team, you know. We stick together."

"Yeah," she replied. Then she grinned widely and looked back up at him. "And you're like...the team dad."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "Please don't call me that...I've already got Lance calling me 'Space Dad,' and I can't take it anymore."

Pidge snickered. "I actually picked it up from him."

"Really?" Shiro asked. "I'll have to make sure you spend less time around him, then."

"Sounds like something a dad would do."

Shiro wanted to retort, but instead he sighed while Pidge laughed.

"Face it, Shiro," Pidge continued. "Until we find my dad, you're going to be the stand-in Space Dad. Sorry, I don't make the rules."

Shiro shrugged. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do about it, is there?"

"Nope."

Shiro rolled his eyes once more but gave in. Pidge grinned victoriously.

Then she frowned. "Huh. What does that make Keith, then…?"

"Pidge, please."

"Ok, ok, sorry. We'll ponder that some other time."


	4. Round 4

_Round 4_

Admittedly, Pidge wasn't used to dancing with women. Well, women that she could tell were women, anyway (this party was pretty full of gender-ambiguous aliens). She should have been intimidated by Allura, what with her goddess-like beauty and class, but Allura was pretty good at making Pidge not feel...well, small (in the figurative sense, anyway).

Not to mention, Pidge wasn't quite paying attention to the dance at the moment anyway. She'd been busy thinking about her missing family ever since she'd brought them up to Shiro earlier. She knew she needed a break from searching, but there were times when not looking for them just made her anxious.

"...about that lately, Pidge?"

Pidge snapped back into the current moment as she barely managed to catch the last few words of Allura's question. "Ummm, sorry what did you say?"

Allura chuckled. "Well, I was just asking about what you've been doing with the Green Lion lately, you know, making conversation." She looked down at Pidge curiously. "But you seem to be off somewhere else."

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about stuff." Pidge cleared her throat. "But yeah, I'll totally tell you about the Lion. I've actually been trying to make it more compact so it can fit into tight spaces if it has to-like, a modification that can make it change size," she laughed. "Not going too well so far, but I think I'm getting somewhere."

Allura listened to all of this with a smile on her face. "Sounds fantastic, Pidge! So glad we have someone as talented as you on the team."

Pidge flushed a little at the compliment but smiled. "Heh. Thanks. I do my best."

"Where did you learn to do all of these things, anyway?"

"My dad taught me," Pidge replied with a shrug. "He used to let me sit next to him while he was working, and he always explained everything." She smiled. "He's pretty awesome that way."

Allura's smile had softened. "How sweet. He'll be very proud when he sees how far you've come."

"Th-thanks..."

For a moment Pidge considered returning the compliment, say something about how Allura's dad would also be proud of her, but the younger girl kept silent. She never quite knew how to approach the topic with Allura, since last time it hadn't gone too well. Maybe she could just change the subject. Pidge looked up once more, only to see that Allura was frowning at something across the room.

She frowned. "Uh, Allura? What are you looking at?"

"Those two," Allura replied, nodding in the direction she was looking. "If they start bickering now, it might ruin this whole ordeal..."

Pidge followed her gaze until she spotted Lance and Keith. It seemed like they were being forced to dance together, but from the looks on their faces, that was the last thing they wanted to do.

Despite being across the gigantic room, though, both young men somehow felt Allura glaring at them and they seemed to wither. Pidge had to suffice a giggle. As funny as it was, she felt kind bad for them-she sure didn't want to be on the receiving end of that glare. Yeesh.

Allura turned back to Pidge with a wide grin. "I don't think they will be a problem," she said with a certainty that made Pidge shiver ever so slightly. "Anyway...what were we talking about?"

Pidge hesitated. "Um...our fathers?"

"Ah, yes, of course..."

Pidge stared up at Allura silently for a moment, then asked, "So, did you have a mother too?"

Allura seemed to brighten slightly. "Oh yes, of course, she was wonderful! She would always appear sweet and passive at first glance, but if you crossed her...oh dear..." She giggled.

Pidge grinned. "So, she was just like you, then."

"I suppose you could say that," Allura chuckled. "And what about you, Pidge?"

"My mom? Well, she's back on Earth..."

"Oh?" Allura asked. She started to twirl Pidge around as the music got faster. "Well, I'm sure she'll be very proud of you as well."

With that, Allura brought Pidge back and affectionately wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. It would have been a sweet gesture if it wasn't for one problem-Allura was _strong_.

Pidge wriggled slightly under the tight embrace. "Allura-!" She gasped. "Can't breathe-!"

Allura quickly let go of her. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She said, but Pidge could hear her laughing. "I didn't mean it, you're just...so _small_ , Pidge."

Pidge groaned. "I'm not small..." She whined.

"Alright, alright, sorry. Can we try that hug again?"

"Fine. Just try to not break my ribcage this time, okay?"

* * *

To be honest, the dance they were doing right here now wasn't much of a dance as it was just stepping back and forth with their arms awkwardly around each other. Not that Shiro was complaining, though. Both he and Hunk were pretty tired, and neither of them felt like doing any crazy dance moves, unlike the rest of these aliens, apparently.

Hunk, however, didn't seem too tired to chat.

"Hey, apologies in advance if I start acting weird," Hunk was saying. "Keith and I drank some of this blue stuff, and I think it may have had something in it."

"Uh...blue stuff...?" Shiro repeated, confused.

"Yeah, some weird punch at the table. I mean, I haven't _felt_ anything, really, but it's just so...uh, tingly? And then I started getting all emotional..."

Shiro tried to stifle a chuckle. "Hunk, you're always emotional."

Hunk blinked. "Oh. Oh yeah..." He broke into a grin. "That's a good point. Phew, I feel a lot better now."

"Being kinda dramatic, aren't you?" Shiro asked, grinning wider this time.

"Hey, give me a break, alright?" Hunk pouted. "I've been at this party for like three hours and I still don't know how to act around these guys, or which of their foods are poisonous. And Allura's little etiquette talk before we got here wasn't much help," He continued. "I still feel like I'm going to deeply offend these guys fifty different ways just by moving my foot wrong."

Shiro just let himself laugh this time. "Ok, slow down," he told his friend. "I think they'd be a little more understanding, Hunk."

Hunk stopped, then rolled his eyes. "Right, right, sorry. It's the blue stuff, man, I'm telling you."

Shiro shook his head. "You said Keith drank it too? Is _he_ okay?" He started to looked around for the young man in question, but was unable to find him.

"Eh, I don't know," said Hunk. "But Keith could probably handle it, he's Keith. Me, on the other hand..."

"I think you'd be able to handle one drink, Hunk."

"It's an _alien_ drink, Shiro! Made by aliens!"

"Ok, ok..." Shiro sighed. "You're going to be fine, Hunk, don't worry about it."

Hunk nodded slowly, then looked at Shiro curiously. "How can you be so calm about everything?"

"Huh?"

"You know...we're constantly surrounded by aliens and everyone's always freaking out, but you're usually so calm. I'm being paranoid right now and you're calm. How do you do that?"

"Oh," Shiro shrugged. "Well, you get used to it after a while."

"Right, yeah..." Hunk trailed off. The music was getting faster but neither of them bothered to follow it. Hunk merely yawned. "Ugh, man, and now I'm getting tired. All this dancing and spinning and stuff is finally getting to me."

Shiro grinned cheekily. "You're not going to blame the blue stuff?"

"You know what? That too."

* * *

Apparently, the idea of two Voltron Paladins refusing to dance with each other was some sort of shock to the Kenilians? They didn't quite understand why, but somehow it would have threatened their alliance with the planet. It also didn't help that Allura was glaring into their souls from across the room.

And that's how Keith found himself dancing with Lance.

To say that it was awkward would be an understatement. They were dancing alright, and Lance wasn't allowing his current dance partner to keep him from dancing as well as usual. But they were avoiding each other's eyes as much as they could, and when they weren't they were just glaring at each other.

"Jeez, Keith, keep up," Lance grumbled. "You're slowing me down."

"Why don't you slow down?" Keith snapped back. "I'm not an expert, alright?"

"Yeah, I noticed. You're sucking the fun right out of this, you know that?"

Keith huffed. "Please let this song be short..." He muttered.

They were back in their awkward silence, and Keith sighed to himself. He couldn't get himself be angry with Lance, not here. At times like this, Shiro would usually put a gentle hand on his shoulder to calm him, but right now Shiro was dancing with Hunk somewhere else on the dance floor. He'd have to just suck it up himself, it seemed.

"Lance?" Keith began. "Can we just...not?"

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Not what?"

"Not be assholes to each other? Just this once?"

Lance pondered this for a moment, and thankfully for Keith, he was also smart enough to suck it up and forget about their 'rivalry' for everyone's peace of mind. "Ok. Fine."

"Thank you."

"Wanna hear a joke?"

Keith blinked. "What? Why?"

Lance shrugged. "I dunno. If we're calling a truce we may as well talk. You wanna hear a joke?"

"Uh...ok."

Lance grinned. "What do you call an alligator in a vest?"

"What?"

"An investigator."

Keith had to stare at Lance for a few seconds in pure confusion, before his face crinkled into a frown. "That was...horrible."

Lance frowned right back. "Well excuse me! I don't suppose you have any better jokes?"

Keith pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes, scoffing but not answering Lance's question.

"You don't know any jokes, do you?" Lance asked.

"Yes I do! Shut up."

"Wow," Lane chuckled as he automatically twirled Keith under his arm. "That's kinda sad. At least I'm trying."

Keith didn't reply, just stared at Lance in bewilderment.

"...what?" Lance asked.

"Why did you spin me?"

"Because...we're dancing?"

Keith frowned again. "Do you have to do all the spins and stuff?"

"Hey, chill dude, I'm used to it alright?" Lance shrugged. The music started to get faster, and Lance followed suit, dragging poor Keith along. "But anyway, I'm leading, so just keep your mouth shut and follow, alright?"

Keith took another break through his nose as he barely managed to keep up. "Fine. You got anything else to talk about besides dumb jokes?"

Lance thought for a moment. "Hmmm, well...does this song sound familiar to you? It kinda sounds like Taylor Swift's old country music to me."

"I...I don't know..."

"Yeah, it totally sounds like it. Or maybe it's more of a pop thing, you know, Selena Gomez but with an alien flair..."

Keith nodded and just let Lance continue talking about music. He could barely handle keeping up with the guy's fast movements, with all the spins and twirls, there was no way he could hold a conversation. For the love of quiznak, Lance, slow down-

"You ready for the dip?" Lance asked suddenly, way too caught up in the music at this point.

"What? No, don't _dip_ me!"

"Too late!"

" _Lance_ -!"

Keith tried to hold his ground, but Lance literally kicked him in the shin, causing him to lose focus and be thrown off balance. In response, Lance dipped him easily, just as the music halted.

Keith swore he heard some female aliens squealing at the sight and he cursed under his breath. If this hadn't been the diplomatic party it was, he would have punched Lance then and there. Lance made him hang there for far longer than necessary, wearing that stupid grin on his face, before he finally let him get back up to his feet.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Lance asked cheekily.

"You _kicked_ me!" Keith snapped back.

Lance looked as innocent as he could. "Oh, did I? Sorry, you were just messing up the rhythm and I panicked." He shrugged, probably enjoying Keith's pain more than he was letting on. Then he pointed a pair of stupid finger guns at him and started backing into the crowd. "Anyway, I totally had a great time, see you later, Keith."

Keith took a deep inhale through his nose to keep himself from running after Lance and strangling him. His leg still hurt from the kick, but at least Lance was gone. He'd definitely have to confront him about it later, though, because apparently Lance's idea of a 'truce' was _vastly_ different from Keith's.


	5. Round 5

_(Round 5)_

"Hey, Allura? We're almost done here, right?"

Allura looked up with a frown when Hunk asked this. "Oh? Aren't you enjoying the party, Hunk?"

Hunk shrugged. "No no, the party's great, it's just...my feet are hurting."

Allura rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad. I've had to deal with many more dances than you, and I'm fine."

"Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed, Princess, you're way stronger than any of us."

Allura burst out laughing at this. "Well, I suppose you're right about that." Then she looked to him in concern. "So...you're tired, then? Would you like to stop?"

"Eh, maybe after this one dance." He sighed. "It's just been a weird night you know, what with getting my feet stepped on by aliens, almost puking out of dizziness, inedible food and the blue stuff-"

"Hunk, I told you, the Yunberry juice is completely harmless to humans."

"I'm still not convinced of that. Point is, it's been weird."

Allura sighed. "I know. You've probably never had to deal with anything like this before. But I appreciate your cooperation. The negotiations were quite successful."

Hunk raised an eyebrow. "How the heck did you get any negotiating done with all this dancing?"

"The Kenilians have a very...odd way of negotiating," Allura laughed. "But it worked, and we had quite a bit of fun in the process, right?"

Hunk shrugged. "I guess so."

"But to answer your question, yes, we're almost done."

"Oh, good," Hunk sighed with relief. "Finally, we can get back to the ship and get something _edible..."_

Allura giggled. "Yes, I know. Nothing quite beats Coran's cooking..."

" _Coran's_ cooking? No thank you, I'm tired of goo. I'll make my _own_ food, thank you very much."

* * *

Pidge nearly jumped out of her shoes when she felt someone suddenly hug her from behind, but relaxed as soon as she heard him gush, "Pidgeyyy!"

He then lifted her into the air and spun her around, causing her to yelp and wriggle to get out of his grasp. "Lance!" she yelped. "Put me down, you doofus!"

Lance laughed and did as he was told. "Sorry, _mi_ _cariño_ , I'm just glad to finally find you, is all."

Pidge immediately turned red and tried to hide it by covering her face with her hands. "Laaance," she whined. "I told you, no pet names in public…"

Lance rolled his eyes with a grin. "Right, right, my bad. Anyway…" He extended his hand out to her invitingly. "Now that I've finally found you, shall we dance?"

Pidge uncovered her face and looked up at him. "Seriously? You're not tired?"

"Me? Tired? Of dancing? Pfffft. Come on, Pidge, this stuff runs in my blood."

Pidge rolled her eyes and took his hand. "Fine, just take it eas- _Lance!"_

Taking it easy was the last thing Lance intended to do, obviously, as he literally swept the girl off her feet and spun her around several times. Pidge grabbed onto his shoulders to keep from flying off, but she was laughing joyfully while other dancers nearby glanced over. Lance was pretty happy with himself for saving his energy for this dance, because hearing Pidge laugh like that was enough to make him almost forget about how exhausted he actually was.

The music swelled as Pidge twirled and danced around, the smile growing on her face as she slowly forgot about any tension of sadness she's been feeling before. Before she knew it, it was over. Lance pulled her in close and dipped her, gracefully as always, while she giggled uncontrollably.

His hand was on her waist and her feet were floating off the ground as she looked up at Lance's grinning face, which was hovering above her own. Her arms were thrown around his neck, though she couldn't quite remember when they had gotten there, not that it mattered. Lance, seeming pretty pleased with himself, leaned down and gave her face a nuzzle before kissing her sweetly on the cheek and setting her upright.

Pidge gave him a huge hug and he returned it, briefly running his hand through her short hair.

"That wasn't taking it easy at all," She teased, smiling up at him once more.

"But it was fun, though, right?"

"Yes, it was fun. But we should probably stop now."

Lance pouted. "Aw, what?" He panted, out of breath. "One more song, please?"

Pidge frowned at him. "Lance, you're tired."

Lance tried to protest, but bit his lip. Pidge probably wouldn't fall for it if he tried to pull that over her again. "Fine, we'll take it easy, ok?"

Pidge considered this, then nodded. "Ok. One more, then."

She leaned her head against his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat as she did so. Whether the heartbeat was caused by the exercise or by her was something she couldn't tell, but she hoped that it was the latter, at least in part.

Lance was absentmindedly stroking her hair again, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. "S-so, uh...how have you been?"

Pidge shrugged. "Fine. I've just been dancing, I guess, and talking about...stuff…" She frowned as the thoughts she'd been thinking about earlier slowly returned to her.

"Mmm, same," Lance replied lazily. "I mean, I had to dance with _Keith,_ which sucked, but other than that I've been good." When Pidge didn't respond, Lance looked down at her with confusion.

"Lance, do you ever just...get tired of being out here?" she suddenly asked. "In space? Fighting?"

Lance frowned..

"I mean, I know we're defending the universe and stuff, but, just…"

"Yeah, I do," He sighed. "But that's why I like I like it when nights like this come around, you know?" He smiled slightly as he spoke. "In the middle of all the crazy stuff, we can just relax a bit and have fun. Nothing wrong with that, right? You appreciate the little things more." He ruffled her hair playfully. "And I've got a short little girlfriend here that I definitely appreciate."

Pidge pouted and slapped his hand away. "Don't call me little," she grumbled, but she smiled when he laughed. She sighed and leaned against him once more, hugging him this time. "But you're probably right. And at least...we've got each other, right?"

"Yeah." Lance hugged back and rested his cheek against her head, snuggling her. "And I'm glad to have you, Pidgey."

Pidge rolled her eyes and blushed, but she didn't scold him this time. She could let him get away with the pet names every now and then.

* * *

It was hard not to spot Lance twirling Pidge around the room, drawing the attention of all the other dancers around them. Good for them, but Keith just rolled his eyes and sighed. He'd managed to untangle himself from the dancing once more and was about to sit out again, when he suddenly felt a familiar hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," came Shiro's soft voice. "You leaving?"

Keith's heart skipped a beat as he whirled around. "Shiro," he breathed as a smile tugged at his lips. "There you are. I was just going to...sit."

"Oh," Shiro replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. He rubbed his neck with a lopsided smile. "I was actually hoping you'd join me for a dance, but, if you're tired-"

"No, I'm not tired," Keith cut him off. He'd been waiting to dance with Shiro for this whole blasted night, he wasn't going to turn him down now. "I...I'd love to dance."

Shiro chuckled lightly as they walked back to the dance floor, hand in hand. When they started dancing, Keith noticed that they were moving quite slowly, not matching the music at all, but honestly he didn't care. All he could focus on was Shiro smiling lovingly down at him, which was making him feel flustered and lose focus.

"You okay?" Shiro asked him softly. "You seem a bit distracted."

"Hmm? No, I-" Keith shrugged. "I'm just tired."

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "You literally just said you weren't tired."

Keith blinked. "No, I meant-" he huffed, then just rested his head on Shiro's broad shoulder. "I wanna dance with you, okay?"

Shiro chuckled and shifted, going from a dance position into more of an embrace. He wrapped both arms around Keith while the other put both hands on his shoulder with a contented sigh.

"Long night for you, huh?" Shiro asked.

Keith grunted in response and didn't look up. "That's one way to put it," he grumbled. "More like crazy. I've barely managed to catch any breaks and my feet hurt. And it doesn't help that Lance went we kicked me in the damn shin just to dip me."

"Lance did _what?"_

"Are you really that surprised though?"

"No, I guess not," Shiro sighed. "Sorry about all that Keith, I know parties aren't really your thing..."

"Whatever," Keith replied. "I'm with you now, so it's worth it."

A tiny blush tickled Shiro's cheeks and he smiled. Keith could be incredibly blunt about his feelings sometimes, and it was pretty adorable. "Yeah," he replied quietly. He hugged the shorter young man tighter, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, feeling Keith smile against his shoulder.

They didn't say much more after that, just continued their dance, which didn't match the music for shit but they didn't care. Keith felt all the tension from before melt away as he relaxed into his lover's embrace. Maybe this night wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

They were all pretty relieved when Allura announced that it was time to go. The party had been fun, yeah, but by now they were all pretty beat, and couldn't wait to get back to the castle and hit the hay.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Allura asked hopefully as they headed back to the ship.

"No, not bad," Shiro replied. "Just a bit...much."

Keith merely grunted.

Allura giggled. "Yes, I know. They can be a little hectic, can't they?"

"I, for one, thought it was great," Lance declared. "And everyone was pretty blown away by my smooth moves, too."

This caused everyone, including Pidge, to roll their eyes, but Lance continued unfazed.

"Hey Allura," he began. "Can we maybe have a dance party at the castle sometimes? I could pick the songs!"

"Lance, knowing you, you'd probably start playing some crappy _memes_ throughout the castle," Hunk replied. "And I don't think these guys would be willing to deal with that."

"First of all, Hunk, how dare you question my taste in music. Second of all, I'm sure everyone would rather dance to music they're familiar with rather than a bunch of alien music-"

"Ok but," Hunk interrupted. "Where do you plan on getting Earth music around here? I don't believe you brought your iPod with you?"

Lance thought about this for a moment. "Hmm...maybe we could sing it ourselves…"

While those two continued to ramble, Allura turned to Shiro and Keith in confusion. "What is...a meme?" She asked.

"Don't ask," replied Keith, and Shiro just nodded in agreement.

Allura shrugged, and continued to stare ahead. Honestly, she'd love to ask more about their odd human culture, but for now, it seemed best for everyone to just go to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone who read the whole thing! I had a lot of fun doing this and I hope you all had just as much fun reading it. Reviews and favs would be very much appreciated. Thanks again!**


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